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Sun, 15 Sep 2019 09:20:44 +0100Joomla! - Open Source Content Managementen-gbHappy Birthday, Salesian Sisters!http://www.salesians.org.uk/news-articles/featured-news/happy-birthday-salesian-sisters.html
http://www.salesians.org.uk/news-articles/featured-news/happy-birthday-salesian-sisters.htmlOn 5th August 1872, the first fifteen Salesian Sisters were clothed in their religous garments, and eleven of them (including St Mary Mazzarello) made their first professions. Don Bosco and the Bishop of Acqui were present on this joyful occasion at Mornese, Italy. Mother Mazzarello, who had worked with Don Bosco to establish the new society, was elected as their first superior on the same day.

From the start, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (Figlie di Maria Ausiliatrice - FMA) worked in the Salesian charism to support and educate girls, using the Oratory model - a home, playground, church and school. They taught trades to girls and young women, enabling them to support themselves, and participated in social justice works to improve the lives of young people, especially girls and the poor.Today, there are more than 14,000 Salesian Sisters in 89 countries, across five continents. We give thanks for all of our Sisters and their work, as we celebrate our 147th birthday. Read more about the Salesian Sisters

We are sad to announce the death of Mother Antonia Colombo, Mother General of the FMA from 1997 - 2008, who died peacefully yesterday in Lombardy, Italy, following a long illness.

Mother Antonia was especially dedicated to promoting and enhancing the dignity of women, and placed herself at the heart of initiatives to foster education and active citizenship for women and girls around the world.

We treasure fond memories of her visit to Great Britain in the late 1990s, and thank God for her many years of service and dedication as a Salesian Sister.

Today, in a letter to the Congregation announcing the news, Mother Yvonne Reungoat, who succeeded her as Mother General, wrote: "Humanising culture and relationships in the light of the message of Jesus and the Salesian charism was not a slogan for Mother Antonia, but a precise commitment that identifies her mission as a Mother and formative guide ... Let us remember that verse of the liturgy which she had made her own and which always accompanied her: " May I know you intimately, O Christ! And, your companion in the passion, can rise again with you! ".

The funeral will be celebrated on 3 July at 12:00 at the Salesian Parish of Sant’Agostino in Milan. The Requiem Mass will be followed by burial at the cemetery of Nizza Monferrato.

We pray that she may rest in peace, reaping the rewards of 'the good and faithful servant'.

An invitation is extended to all of the Salesian Family to join our Sisters to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Salesian Sisters arrival in Scotland in 1969.

Mass will be celebrated by Bishop John Keenan, Bishop of Paisley, at 3.00pm on Saturday 24th August in St. Fergus' Church, Blackstoun Road, Ferguslie Park, Paisley PA3 1LU

This will be followed by a simple buffet in the school opposite the Church.

If you would like to attend, please email fmajubilee50@gmail.com with your name and the number of people in your group. If any of our priests would like to concelebrate the Mass, please mention this in your email.

All emails will be noted and responded to. It's not long until August - so please respond as soon as you can.

The latest project from the Bosco Centre in Bermondsey is a community cafe in the Docklands Settlement, serving delicious food and real coffee at affordable prices, while giving work skills and experience to young people with special educational needs.

The Bosco Centre was founded three decades ago by Sr Cecily Dunn, who died three years ago today (24 May 2016), and the cafe is the project of the current director, Darren Coghlan.

The trainee chefs and cafe helpers are recruited by the Bosco Centre, and trained and mentored by manager Jeanie. Every day, the team bakes scrumptious cakes and makes nourishing soups and fresh sandwiches to be sold at affordable prices to customers, who can relax and socialise in the pleasant cafe. There's even a dedicated play area to keep tiny customers entertained.

From its inception, the Bosco Centre has aimed is to break down barriers that prevent young people from learning, growing and achieving. At its home base on Jamaica Road, the Centre has a college for ages 16+, a nursery, and junior and senior clubs. The new internship programme offering supported placements to young people with learning difficulty, along with the cafe venture is breaking down the barriers that hold back young people who need additional support from accessing employment.

Boscoffee Cafe is located off Rotherhithe Street, and at the moment, it's open Monday - Friday from 9:30 to late afternoon. If possible, the cafe may extend its hours to include the weekend in the future.

Holiness is for you too. A phrase I am sure that we are all fairly familiar with this year, as the Rector Major has challenged each of us to consider how we can find holiness in the simplicity of our everyday lives. This was also what was asked of a group of young people who have recently taken part in a VIDES for Youth weekend at Barnstondale activity centre.

The group of young girls, from St. John Bosco, Croxteth arrived with lots of energy (and snacks) on Friday evening and were welcomed warmly by our team who had been preparing for the weekend for quite some time. The weekend kicked off with everybody’s favourite part – the ice breakers – before we introduced how the weekend would run and some of the things that could be expected. In keeping with tradition, we closed and started each of our days together with a form of prayer and reflection, helping us to focus on the Salesian young people whose stories we can learn so much from. The young people were asked how they could relate different parts of these stories to their own lives, think of their hopes and dreams for the weekend and the future, and were also given space to pray for something in their lives.

After a “great nights rest”, we were ready to go again, with Saturday seeing us explore our Salesian founders, who and what VIDES is as well as some team challenges that I am sure some of our group are still trying to forget! Before we took some time to prepare different elements to ensure that our Sunday mass was a memorable one for our young people, they were able to discover through a series of games what it takes to be a volunteer. Our day was finished off in the same high spirits, with a series of team challenges and quizzes that helped us to celebrate the time that we had spent together, before finding a sense of calmness around our camp fire, with hot chocolate and a sing-along.

We were fortunate enough to be able to celebrate mass on Sunday, with thanks to Fr Jakub who came along to share the occasion with us. This came after our young people were given the chance to affirm one another, highlighting all of the joy and goodness that they had seen within each other as the weekend had developed.

The team have came away reflecting on how much of a success the weekend was, and we hope that the young people who came to share the time with us have left with similar impressions, as we would be extremely lucky to see this group of young people continue to bless the Salesian Family in this province for many years to come. They were a credit to our wider Salesian Family, to their school, but above all, to themselves!

We would like to invite all members of the Salesian Family to attend a two-day workshop on The Enneagram on Saturday 2nd November- Sunday 3rd November 2019.

The day will be led by Fr John Mc Cluskey, a Mill Hill priest currently living in Freshfields, England. He is trained in the Enneagram and his specific presentation style and approach is excellent. He comes highly recommended!

The day promises to be informative, reflective and fresh. We hope it will give you the opportunity to learn a little more about yourself and ‘how you work.’ It will also be an opportunity to catch up with friends, old and new during the tea breaks and lunch.

Why not come along and bring some friends too? We believe this day will be worth attending for your own personal growth and development.

Please feel free to advertise and promote this day to others that you feel might like to take part. We only have and would like to fill all 15 places! Don’t wait too long to book your place. You know the old saying, ‘the early bird catches the worm!’

If you have any further questions then please don’t hesitate to contact Sr Linda srlindafma@gmail.com, and please let us know by 30th June 2019 if you wouild like to jouin us.

We wish all of you, especially our Salesian Sisters - a happy and blessed Feast of St Mary Mazzarello!

Born on 9th May 1837, and known for her unfailing cheerfulness and ability to draw others into the vital work of supporting poor and marginalised girls, Maria Domenica Mazzarello was chosen by Don Bosco to work with him in establishing the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Figlie di Maria Ausiliatrice (FMA) - the Salesian Sisters.

In addition to her devotion to the young, Mother Mazzarello encouraged the sisters in their intellectual and spiritual development, and her motherly concern was valued by all. She died aged 44 in the early hours of 14th May 1881. Her final words were, "Good-bye. I am going now. I will see you in heaven."

She was beatified on November 20, 1938 and canonized on June 24, 1951. Her incorrupt body is venerated in the Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians, in Turin, Italy. Her feast is 13th May.

A group of Salesian Sisters has been following in the footsteps of St Teresa in the beautiful medieval walled city of Avila, 'Town of Stones and Saints'.

They have visited the Convent of St Teresa, on the site of her former home, where a recreation of the room in which she was born has her father's record of her birth painted on the wall: 'On Wednesday, 28th March 1515, Teresa my daughter was born, within half an hour or so of five o'clock in the morning, on the said Wednesday almost at dawn.'

A small garden where she prayed as a child is preserved, and there are many mementos of her in the museum housed in the crypt of the church.

The pilgrimage has also included a visit to the Monastery of St Joseph, where St Teresa established the very first house of her reformed Discalced Carmelite order, beginning with just four novices in 1562, and the Monastery of the Incarnation, where Teresa began her religious life. She lived there for around 30 years, and this is where she received many of her profound religious experiences. Her austere bedroom with its wooden pillow, has been preserved, along with many objects that would be familiar to the saint, and some that would not - for example, the chair used by St John Paul II on his visit to Avila to comemmorate the 400th anniversary of Teresa's death.

In Avila, the sisters have also been praying for the intentions of many members of the Salesian Family. Thank you, and a safe journey home, Sisters!

Excitement is building for the celebrations in August to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Salesian Sisters arrival in Scotland.

The Easterhouse and URSpace communities came together this week to discuss and develop ideas for this wonderful celebration.

The gathering included looking through documents, cuttings and scrapbooks with memories of over 50 years of presence in Scotland, serving young people in Paisley, Milton, Easterhouse, Elderslie and Johnstone, Nitshill, Newmains and Newlands.

The celebration Mass on Saturday 24th August will be presided over by the Right Reverend John Keenan, Bishop of Paisley and a past-pupil of Shrigley.

The Mass will be at St Fergus Church, Ferguslie Park, Paisley, on Saturday 24th August 2019, at 3pm. Please save the date!

The Mother General of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), Yvonne Reungoat, on 24 February 2019, published the Circular of Convocation of General Chapter 24, according to article 138 of the Constitutions. The 24th Chapter will begin in Rome, at the FMA Generalate, on September 18, 2020.

The General Chapter “is a key moment for evaluation, reflection, and guidance in a common search for God’s will”. All the FMA and educating communities collaborate in this event “through their prayer, study, and proposals”.

The theme of GC24 is "Do whatever he tells you" (Jn 2:5). Communities that generate life in the heart of Contemporaneity, and its goal is to awaken the original freshness of the vocational fruitfulness of the Institute.

The Vicar General, Sr Chiara Cazzuola, was appointed as the Moderator and assumed the responsibility of accompanying the preparation and development of General Chapter 24.

At the conclusion of the Circular, Mother writes: “Dear sisters, in this time of preparation for the GC 24, a time of grace for the whole Institute, we are invited to enter into the depth of the content that the theme offers us to rediscover and live our being together as educating communities with greater generative awareness.

Faithful to the Salesian charism, we feel the need to grow in the capacity to ‘take care’ of reciprocal relations between the various members of the educating community, with and for the young people whom the Lord entrusts to us so that they may grow and flourish. In our homes, we also welcome migrants, poor and fragile people, women and girls in need, where everyone can find attention, care, affection, and the chance to look to the future with hope.

In preparing for the Chapter, let us involve the educating community and other groups of the Salesian Family. In dialogue and sharing, let us make sure that young people can express themselves and tell us what they feel and think.

We entrust ourselves to Mary so that, as at Cana, she will help us to listen to what Jesus tells us, to transform the water of our daily life into the wine of new vocational fruitfulness. I invite you to meet every day in the prayer of entrustment according to the proposal I offer you”.